This opening sonic salvo from Steve Harris's East End stalwarts pretty much defined the late 1970's post-punk rebirth of rock traditionalism known as the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal. Featuring the strident cockney roar of the band's original lead vocalist Paul Di'Anno, Iron Maiden capitalised on the band's enormous grass-roots live following by storming immediately into the upper reaches of the album chart. A perfect balance of the irresistibly catchy ("Running Free"), the intricately epic ("Phantom Of The Opera") and the roguishly profane ("Charlotte The Harlot"), it's an assured debut, superficially marred by somewhat pedestrian production values. Newly enhanced with the addition of video clips and assorted other multimedia goodies, Iron Maiden--specifically the blazing, fretboard ferocity of its closing title track--is an utterly essential element of any self-respecting metal-head's record collection. Furious, whiplash headbanging is not so much recommended as completely unavoidable. --Ian Fortnam
伊藤正則がライナーノーツで「メイデンに巡り会えて本当に良かった」,と感慨深く語っていたが,僕も同感だった。NWBHMのビッグバンでHM界が玉石混淆状態となったが,結局本物だけが残った。一時はSaxonかIron Maiden等と言われたこともあったが,最初から勝負はついていたのだろう(無論Saxonの初期の作品は悪くない)。Maidenは正に玉,宝石だったのだ。確かに1stは全体的なバランスには若干の難はあるが,既に大物の品格を兼ね備えていることが直ぐ分かる。Prowler,Running Free,Phantom of the Operaが特に秀作だろう。Maidenを知るにはこの作品は絶対に必聴。